A Cthulhu-ish notion & now also something completely different

[Valerian]

I've been away from here for a while, but now I'm back and I'd like to see what I can get started.  Heh.

I saw this idea posted elsewhere, though it never quite turned into a game as far as I know.  A wealthy collector is found gruesomely killed in his home.  The only real clue is a strange old book, which he was clutching when he died.  With the police stymied and quietly giving up on the case, the man's young widow (my character) hires a private investigator to track the book back to its source and find the truth.  But this time, the truth is something Man was Not Meant to Know...

Does this inspire anyone, by chance?  I'm not much good at running games myself, sadly, but what I'm thinking here is a subtlely creepy atmosphere, at least to begin with.  It doesn't need to be based on the actual Lovecraft stories or the game system, but it's the same idea -- humans finding themselves facing off against a bizarre supernatural evil that they'll never quite comprehend.  Tending towards the wordy myself, I would like a GM with similar habits.  And good grammar, please.  I know mistakes will happen, but too many just make me crazy, and not in a good way.

I'm not looking for anything hentai, at least not overtly -- tentacles might creep in, so to speak, but that shouldn't be the main focus.

Thoughts?  Questions?  Best of all, a potential GM?   ;D

[Celestial Goblin]

I am leaving for the next week. But when I am back, I would consider giving this game a try.
I think I can pull off a game inspired by Lovecraft without tripping over the fallacy that 'Lovecraft=tentacles'.
I did myself fancied to post a game ad for something related to the Mi-Go and the 'Whisperer in the Darkness', for example.

[Valerian]

Ah, good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes the idea.  I'll look forward to seeing what ideas you might come up with.

[Valerian]

Hrm, all right, I guess I need to re-open this thread.  Is anyone else interested in the above idea?  It's been nagging at me for months now and I think I need to play it so it will leave me alone.  ;)

[Iksander]

I would certainly be happy enough to run something of this sort.  I'll definitely be calling up Lovecraftian motiffs, but the mood would likely be a bit more... Silent Hill.  Creepy, isolate, and psychologically active, reacting to the character.  Possibly with monsters, but more likely simply the darker reflections of humanity.

If you're interested, give me a shout and we could set something up.

[Brittlby]

I should like very much to play in a mythos game. Always loved those cheesy Arkham House pulps. Even have a character concept in mind. Tell me someone is going to run with this setting... PLEASE!~

[kasen03]

I've always loved Cthulhu..especially set in the 1920's.

I'd offer to throw my hat into the ring to DM this - HOWEVER right now my life is really busy - work-wise. 

If the players are willing to put up with abit of delays..especially during the weeks - as well as not require me to hold every hand - but rather be the narrator to set the scene then..mm... it's a very nifty idea :)

[Valerian]

Well, it's looking like I may need to start searching again for someone to run the above idea for me, but while I'm waiting to find out for sure, I have another idea I'd like to pitch.  This one will preferably not be Cthulhu-ish at all, but rather scary in a completely different way.

My character would be a member of the French Resistance in WWII.  She's caught the eye of a German officer -- maybe SS, maybe an ordinary soldier, but definitely not someone any patriotic Frenchwoman would want anything to do with.  But he has access to some sort of information that the Resistance group wants very badly, so she pretends to fall in love with him in order to get that information.

From here there could (and should) be all sorts of complications.  Maybe she's in love with a fellow Resister who can't stand seeing her with another man.  Maybe she ends up marked for death as an apparent traitor.  Maybe the German ends up seeming like a pretty nice guy who's quietly helping her get information -- but can she trust him?  Will she end up falling in love with him in spite of herself?

I don't expect perfect historical accuracy, since I'm no expert myself, but I'd like a good sense of the times and how dangerous they could be.  It would maybe work best as a small group (3-4), with players on both sides.  Any interest?  *puts on best pleading look*

[kylie]

The occupation intrigues sound rather interesting.  Could you say a little more about what sorts of interactions you'd like within that?

For example, is it going to be basically just romance/ triangles with a busy political background?  Or do you want some actual torturous interrogations?  Characters going down with grisly wounds in the street? 

I don't mean to go all messy, but I'm wondering how much of the peril will translate into pain and discipline, or how graphic that might get.  Or would you like to play with more twisted, perhaps dominance-style relationships that may breed in this situation?

[Valerian]

I was thinking mainly of exploring the sort of dark and twisted relationships that could come out of the situation, yes -- betrayal, the struggle for dominance and power (not just sexually, but on multiple levels), that sort of thing.  Serious physical torture isn't my thing, so that would happen mainly offscreen if it did happen.  But there are other kinds of torture...

It would depend on the group, of course, but this would probably get pretty dark, psychologically speaking.  A Resistance fighter was never sure who to trust, and throwing love and sex into the mix also gives everything that extra edge of desperation.

[kylie]

I might be interested.  I like the sound of that generally then... 

Is there a more fixed roster of roles (x males, y females on each side), or is it pretty much open to whatever people propose?  I have a feeling with 3-4 players there will be some shadow npc's rolling in and out, but I'm fine with that.

[Valerian]

Yes, there will have to be NPCs around, I'm sure, but a larger group of players might make things move too slowly.  As for the gender ratio and things like that, that's open as far as I'm concerned.  The only roles I'd really need are the female Resistance fighter I want to play, and the German officer.  Otherwise the field's wide open, from Vichy collaborators to rabid Nazis to British spies.

What we really need now is a GM, since I'm not much good at running things myself.  I do know something about the Resistance, so I could advise, but I don't think I could deal with the necessary NPCs and keeping the pace going, I'm afraid...

[kylie]

I'd probably prefer to focus on playing one character than run that one.  Although if it becomes desperate, I might reconsider.  Not sure. 

It's been ages since I ran much of anything, and I'm not sure I'm real brilliant at it...  Plus I don't know the history all so well either.  But just maybe if all else fails.

[Valerian]

Yep, hopefully someone else will chime in here, maybe after the holiday weekend we're currently having here in the U.S.  :)  Two co-Gms might also work, perhaps, one for each side of the conflict...

[Valerian]

*nudge*  So, anyone else like the WWII notion?  Lots of possibilities for a clever GM -- love, death, kidnapping, betrayal, nasty little mind games, and major warfare besides!  ;D

[Valerian]

Hrm.  One more bump, perhaps.  Both ideas mentioned above are still open, if anyone's interested in them, or in anything similar.  Variations on the themes are also possible...

*smiles winningly*

[Valerian]

And actually, a third idea has just struck me (ouch!) -- still pretty dark, I guess, but it wouldn't go under non-con, either.

It'd be a post-apocalyptic one-on-one, set several years after the war has ended -- long enough for there to be some semblance of civilization in some areas, though other places will still be wild and full of roaming bandits.  If you've read The Postman, by David Brin, that's the kind of feel I'm looking for.  (I suppose watching the movie counts, but the book's much better.  Heh.)

The characters would be two wanderers, possibly one much more experienced at surviving than the other, who cross paths and are forced by circumstance to trust each other when they ordinarily wouldn't.  Slowly (ideally) it would then start to become a love story as well as a survival story.

So, if there's a male wanderer out there who'd like to encounter my female wanderer, she'll be very glad of the company.  Eventually, at least.  ;)

Edit: This idea is now under development as a one-on-one, but may take more players later.   :)